Children in Cambodia

After decades of war and economic stagnation resulting from the policies of Pol Pot, the Cambodian economy finally began to improve after the turn of the century. However, the financial crisis soon came and the economy faltered once again. Things are now on the up, but the road ahead is a long one.

The average salary is less than £1 a day, and around a quarter of the population live below the international poverty line. Poor living conditions are particularly prevalent in rural areas, where access to safe drinking water is barely above half. Nearly 50% of the population are engaged in some form of agricultural activity, making them vulnerable to the threat of natural disaster and extreme weather.

Human traffickers exploit the vulnerable with heart-breaking cruelty. Many of those who are exploited believe they are entering decent jobs with high salaries, and fall victim instead to forced labour or the sex industry.

There are around 5.6 million children in Cambodia. 570,000 of them are living without parental care as a result of years of war, poverty and a national HIV/AIDS crisis (it is estimated that some 76,000 Cambodians are living with the disease, many of them children).

Poverty, years of war, migration, a national HIV/AIDS crisis – these problems have left hundreds of thousands of children without parental care. 76,000 people in Cambodia live with HIV/AIDS, and many of these are children.

Many people are forced into back-breaking labour across Cambodia, but too often it is children who find themselves in the worst jobs. Nearly 40% of children child labourers employed in agriculture, fishing and mining, or serving the wealthy as domestic servants. Many simply beg or sell wares on the street.

Our Children's Villages in Cambodia

SOS Children’s Villages began work in Cambodia in 2000. We began by working with children in the capital who had lost their parents.

Due to great need across the country, we rapidly expanded our work and now have five Children’s Villages in Cambodia, with sixth opening in 2016.

We care for children who have lost their parents, as well as supporting fragile families and those in need of our support in the local community.

Phnom Penh

Our healthcare work targets malnutrition, and vaccinations protect children against disease. Like most of our communities, an SOS Nursery offers care for younger children.We opened our first community in Cambodia in the summer of 2001 in the capital, Phnom Penh. For many of the children the Village not only provides protection and security but also the opportunity to attend school for the first time. An SOS School serves this need at secondary level, while older children spend time at an SOS Youth Home as they prepare to leave our care.

Angkor-Siem Reap

Situated a few miles from the famous temples of Angkor Wat, our second Cambodian Village opened in Angkor-Siem Reap in 2002.
Education is a main priority for SOS Children's Villages, and in Angkor-Siem Reap, we offer schooling from nursery level right up to the early years of adulthood. We award scholarships to many poor children from the local community so that they can go to school.

Battambang

Battambang has been seriously affected by years of civil war and political unrest, and when we opened our third Village in the area, many of the children living here had lost their parents or were at risk of doing so.
HIV/AIDS too is a big problem here, and those who suffer most are children. Our work here focuses on keeping families affected by AIDS together, providing medical care and sending children to school.
An SOS School is well-equipped with science and IT resources and offers a rich education to children across the educational spectrum. A nursery also serves children from the Village as well as the local community.

Ratanakiri

Living conditions in Ratanakiri are some of the worst in the country. Local government donated a piece of land to SOS Children's Villages, and in 2011 Ratanakiri became home to SOS Children's Villages' fourth community in Cambodia. We target malnutrition via a special programme, and provide nursery schooling to give children an educational footing early on. Later, we boost children's future prospects by offering scholarships to poorer children so they can attend local school.

Kratie

The small town of Kratie is home to our newest Children's Village in Cambodia. We run a range of community programmes in Kratie, fulfilling the huge demand for decent healthcare and helping families send children to school. We also run a nursery, offering daycare for mothers, and providing infants with an early introduction to education and play.

Local contact

SOS Children’s Villages Cambodia

PO Box 2112

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

Tel: +855/23 219 190, +855/23 219 193

Fax: +855/23 224 034

e-mail: info@soscvcambodia.org

Explore SOS

Latest news

Here you'll find the latest news about SOS Children's Villages' work around the world. We also report on issues related to global health and education, development and poverty, and their impact on the communities we support.

Get Involved

Without our supporters, we could not do this. Whether you are an individual, a school, a company, a trust or a foundation, here you can discover all the best ways to fundraise for us and raise awareness of our work.

Donate

You can help children who have lost their parents. They may have been orphaned by AIDS, natural disaster or conflict. Poverty may have forced their parents to give them up, or they may have been separated from their family by war.